I am walking down my death row
by Bleach-ed-Na-tsu
Summary: Tsuna had finally done it. He had destroyed Vongola and corrupted the Mafia from the inside. The strongest families were under Vongola rule, struck and tied to Vongola in a crippling way. The weaker families were subdued. Everyone was finally safe. He and his guardians had finally done it. There was just one thing to do, as Tsuna walked through the courtroom... full sum' inside.


**Update as of [26/04/13] I now have a beta, so please look forward to chapters with better grammar and spelling. Gosh knows that I've been needing one. So you can all thank mercyn for the editing!**

* * *

**Summary:** Tsuna had finally done it. He had destroyed Vongola and corrupted the Mafia from the inside. The strongest families were under Vongola rule, struck and tied to Vongola in a crippling way. The weaker families were subdued and crippled. Everyone was finally safe. He and his guardians had finally done it. There was just one final thing to do, and as Tsuna walked through the courtroom cuffed and content, he suspected he had just finished it all.

* * *

I'm walking down my death row.

* * *

Tsuna was not stupid; he knew that one day he would die. He knew that being a Mafiosi was not a glamorous or appealing job. His own goal of destroying the mafia and changing it were another.

He was prepared for this.

He had prepared his guardians for it.

But that didn't mean Tsuna particularly liked it.

Tsuna had been training to be Decimo for ten whole years, already twenty four he had done many, many things. He had destroyed and saved lives. He had saved and threatened people. He had made his bones and had made his friends do the same.

Ten years was an excruciatingly long time in the mafia, especially for the young. Tsuna had made many amendments to the way the mafia Vongola was run and could say happily, with no fear of being wrong or hated, that Vongola was almost exactly where he wanted it to be. Where Giotto had always intended for it to be.

Tsuna had met so many people; he had made friends and enemies. He had lost his Dame-ness and had made a name for himself. He loved his family with his entire being, and not one of them deserved what he was doing to them; they deserved to be the biggest and best they could be, but Tsuna wasn't always powerful enough to give it to them.

Hayato should have been a household name. He should be in back-to-back concerts, composing and making a life for himself outside of the mafia. But instead he was loyal to Tsuna.

Takeshi should have been a starter on some international baseball team, or even continue his family business. He has no right being in the Mafia; he was too innocent and true to life to be in such a dark place. But he too, was loyal only to Tsuna.

Kyouya could have done anything, maybe in the police force, or even his own defense agency. For some reason, somehow the cloud has tethered himself to Tsuna's sky, and though he didn't show it the man was _unshatteringly_ loyal to Tsuna.

Mukuro deserved peace. He had seen too much, done too many things to continue his crusade in the Mafia. Tsuna could clean up the mafia; Mukuro didn't need to force himself. But for Tsuna, he did. Possession threats aside, he was only in the mafia to protect Tsuna.

Chrome should have had a little house with a big, warm family. She should have peace and love. Not constant fear and anxiety. She shouldn't have to worry whether Mukuro or anyone else was going to come back from their latest mission. She was too pure and kind-hearted for that. Instead she stayed with Tsuna, kissed him on the cheek at night, and thanked him for giving her a home.

Ryohei wasn't going to go into anything academic, Tsuna thought. But the man had a dream of conquering the boxing scene, and being in Tsuna's family kept him suitably hidden, fighting in the dark and blowing open illegal rings instead. He deserved the spotlight, somewhere he would never have to worry at night whether or not his sister would be threatened because of his ties with Tsuna. But no, Ryohei clapped his 'otouto' on the back with a grin, assuring him that family was family.

Lambo deserved a family and a childhood. He had been raised in a dark place, and Tsuna wished that he could have gotten Lambo out of it far sooner than he had been able to it. He had made sure that Lambo finished school, had a chance at normalcy before becoming an official guardian, but you can't take the mafia _out_ of the blood even if you take the Mafioso _away_ from the blood. Yet still, Lambo would come to Tsuna for comfort and love, whispers of _'I love my baka-Tsuna-nii the most'_ on his smiling face.

Tsuna smiled as he thought of his beautiful guardians. Sure, they were unpredictable, violent, and sometimes bloodthirsty. But they were loyal, loving, and protective of him and each other. They bowed to him, in their own way, and they were the ones that made him. He was simply the place they could call home, the blank canvas where they could bloom and shine.

He wasn't important at all.

Tsuna laughed lightly under his breath, rubbing his ring comfortably as he imagined what his guardians would say to that statement.

"_Juudaime is the strongest! We are nothing without you!"_

"_Maa maa, Tsuna. You're only thinking that because you're too awesome to understand. Chin up, ne?"_

"_Omnivore, those herbivorous thoughts are unbecoming of you, get rid of them; kami korosu."_

"_Kufufufu, is that you telling me to possess you? I only possess the strong, Tsunayoshi."_

"_Bossu, please don't say that, you're not useless. You give us a family."_

"_Baka-Tsuna-nii! If you keep thinking that the amazing Lambo-sama will eat all the candy! Gyhahaha!"_

"_SAWADA! You are EXTREMELY underestimating yourself TO THE EXTREME! Fight on, Tsuna!"_

Tsuna looked at the window as scenery rushed by in a blur of green and grey. It was bright out, but all his guardians were in the sky, waiting to strike with a raging storm of sunshine and lightning, brightening, darkening and protecting the sky.

* * *

Tsuna was yanked unceremoniously into the light as the car pulled up to the courthouse. He was under arrest for as many murders as they could place on Vongola hands. He was sentenced for assault, destruction of property, intentional harm of the innocent, and accessory to murder and all of the above. He would get out of no crime. If at one point Vongola could be blamed- with evidence- for any crime, it was pinned on Tsuna now, as was the responsibility of any boss at any time.

As they entered the Supreme Court camera flashes went off everywhere, people shoved microphones into Tsuna's face, begging for answers, asking how he could be caught, why he didn't look scared. They asked why he became a boss, how it felt to lead an entire nation of people. One woman even asked, with a cruel smile on her face, how it felt to have thousands of peoples' blood on his hands, staining them, and making him a murderer to his core. She missed Tsuna's wince, but many caught the regretful, tired look in his eyes and their questioning quieted.

They were in Japan, funnily enough. Some sick higher up wanted to see Tsuna prosecuted in his own homeland, a kind of twisted retribution Tsuna thought.

As he sat down on the defendant's side of the court, looking up towards the podium where the judge would soon sit, Tsuna sighed heavily, closing his eyes for a moment and listening as Reborn came and sat as his lawyer. The man was subdued, his usual smirk replaced by grim understanding. He knew Tsuna's train of thought, and he could only be proud, of not saddened by the turn of events.

This was not where he pictured his student, ten years after they had met.

"Are you sure about this, Tsuna?" Reborn asked, fedora pulled down to hide his unease.  
"This is probably the only thing I'm sure about, Reborn." Tsuna reassured with a comforting smile on his lips despite the sadness in his pools of chocolate. "My only regret is my friends are coming with me."

With that the judge entered and the court dove into a heavy silence.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, you are all aware of why we're here today, but I will lay it out for you, just in case." The prosecutor stepped out in front of the judge.

The man was a justice of the peace, one of the head investigators that had been on Tsuna's case since the 'official' declaration of his coronation. It had been almost eight years since that time, and Tsuna had never seen a more powerful or justice-centric man. Tsuna knew he would make great things of himself; once the Mafia was gone.

"Vongola has been around for centuries, hiding in the shadows and allying themselves with the strongest and the weakest alike. Today we have the tenth generation boss, Tsunayoshi Sawada, and he will be charged for his crimes once and for all."

Of course, everyone knew who the Vongola were, and since Tsuna's ascension to boss hood they had become a household name. Whispered about as they flitted through the shadows, downing the unrighteous and destroying entire towns in hours. They were fables! The tenth generation was some of the most dangerous, yet most mysterious of all the Mafia's the public knew about. Yet few could say outright that they wanted to see the regime ended. Everyone else, without a doubt! Vongola, no one could really tell you?

"The Decimo Generation is one of the strongest and most violent of all the years. They account for," Here the prosecutor paused to look at his notes, "over two hundred famiglias being destroyed, not to mention thousands of dollars in damages. They've filled hospitals with their victims. We never know what will happen next. They are a danger, and arresting their boss is the best thing we can do to end their reign."

As the prosecutor ended his monologue the court settled in for a long line of 'witnesses' and testimonies. Hoping to ease the public and jury alike into arresting and sentencing Tsuna to life. All the while Tsuna sat still, a small, albeit sad smile on his lips. He wanted to look at his friends, but he was to watch the judge and the proceedings, or else seem scheming and rude. Even if, to him, all this was simply going through the motions.

* * *

Each of Vongola's witness was called to testify, and questioned on what Vongola had done to them. They were drowned in evidence against Vongola, and most of the witnesses threw back counter arguments that left the questioner spluttering or red-faced in frustration.

One such witness that caused the most stir was someone had studied Vongola for many years, Dr. Adrian Markser, a scholar of Mafia history. He had personally taken it upon himself to learn the ins and outs of Vongola after stumbling across a rare book on their ancient past. He had been intrigued by the tradition of the half-Vongola rings, and Primo's sad but inspiring struggle from orphan to _bossdom_ and all his fights along the way.

Once he had started, Markser was hooked.

He found everything he could from rumors of Secondo's harem and orphanage, to straight facts and birthday celebration traditions. Then, one day in the beginning of Tsuna's second year as official boss, the two men met during a raid on a small town where the local gangs were overstepping Vongola's preset lines. From there Markser was mystified, completely obsessed with starting his pilgrimage to write Tsuna's history; to be the first one to do so.

Along the way he had been saved and swept up into Tsuna's beautiful famiglia, accepted and protected by the guardians and boss alike. Omerta or not, Markser wished he could be more open about his involvement with Tsuna, but for his own safety he promised to keep his relationship with Vongola a secret.

"_I would demand it of all my famiglia if I could. But as a previous civilian I will have to make you swear to stay as uninvolved as possibly, Adrian. Can you do that for me?"_

"Vongola is justice." The witness testified, completely sure of his words, looking upon Tsuna with a deep faith and respect. "They fight for the people, they do not traffic- drugs, weaponry, or humans- they are the justice that the police and the high-ups cannot possibly hope to be. Why then, sir, would you want to destroy them?"

"But they cause mass destruction and death. Vongola is tyrannical and dangerous." The prosecutor pushed, hoping for some reaction.

Though, it wasn't the one he wanted.

"You said it yourself, sir." He began after a pause, "One of Vongola's most public and well-known cases was the destruction of an entire famiglia in one night. A collective assault by not only the Mr. Hibari- arguably the strongest 'guardian'- but by the Boss and all six other guardians also." Dr. Markser began, a cool confidence in his voice.

"You've brought this up, why?" The prosecutor, Felix Spencer, knew the case well- had brought it up as counter evidence even.

It was a massive event, very public, very uncharacteristic of the Vongola thus far. It was almost eight years ago now. The entire famiglia was whipped out. The most disgusting and vile of all the Families the justice of the peace had ever seen. A family called Estraneo.

"One of the most notable pieces of that case, correct me if I'm wrong sir, was that they publically declared themselves as Decimo, unwilling to participate in any kind of drug, human trafficking, or weaponry wars. They declared themselves, what was it? Vigilante? Wasn't the complete annihilation for Estraneo from _all over the world_ their opening work?" Markser laughed though it wasn't amused, "How dangerous to the public are they now, sir, given they wiped out one of the vilest families in existence?"

Felix Spencer, justice of the peace was left gaping, realizing quickly that he was being lead around by the nose by a charismatic, intelligent man. As he went to object, to call this man erratic and unreliable, but Dr. Markser beat him to it, finishing his line of speech with steadfast eyes, gazing at Tsuna with warmth and trust. Completely sure he would save the man from an unfair fate.

"Vongola was blood thirsty and vile, I of all people would know." Markser began with a shrug. "But we are here to prosecute Mr. Sawada, and he, the _Decimo _of Vongola, is nothing of what you are accusing him of. His Vongola of now is for the people. He is protecting them all and is destroying the mafia from the inside. So I ask you again, sir, why are you trying to get rid of the only thing that could ever rid us of such brutal reality?"

He spoke, and he was dismissed. The prosecutor giving up and seeing that the man would counter every argument; was simply bewitched by Tsunayoshi Sawada and the charisma that hung around him.

* * *

"We will call Sawada to the stands now. He will speak of his crimes and plead his case."

Suddenly, with a bang, clatter and shouts of outrage and confusion the doors to the courtroom were thrown open and footsteps echoed on the carpeted floor. A small object rushed through the room, heading straight for the front of the courtroom at a speed of a breakneck run.

A child ran in from outside, tears streaming his face, sobs echoing in the deathly silent room. He crashed through the unsuspecting guards, into the light of the news crews and jury. His blonde hair was disheveled, his clothes ruffled and dirty. His knees were scuffed and his face flushed.

"Nii-san did none of that!" the boy screeched as he collided with Tsuna's knees.

Tsuna had risen more quickly to his feet upon realizing who was entering, his intuition going off in sparks and whips. Regardless of his position, and what would make him look less guilty, Tsuna had walked to the center aisle, waiting to catch the boy as he flew through the partitioned stall doors that separated viewer from court.

"Nii-san saved us! He saved my mama and my town! HE is not a murderer!" the child's sobs even stopped the judge from ordering his detainment, shocked by the sheer sincerity in the child's tone. "It was the people before Nii-san who killed, and hurt people! Never Nii-san! He would never!"

Tsuna's eyes misted a little as the child cluing to him for dear life. He could see the guardians shift uncomfortably, knowing that their boss couldn't protect the child in that state, cuffed and subdued as he was.  
"Hush, Angelo." He cooed in a voice that held no fake concern, "Calm yourself, child. It's alright."

"It's not!" He bawled, clinging righter to Tsuna's neck as the young man wrapped him in a warm hug. "They're trying to hurt you!"

Tsuna smiled lightly, the gathered gasping at the openly protective and soft look on his gentle face. Arresting the brunet had been the easiest thing the authorities had ever done; this time. He was slippery and charismatic. Every other raid on his supposed bases had led to quick and precise evasion, and no end to the frustration of the authorities.

It was even more difficult, however, to convince the general public and various tactical enforcement teams that the brunet currently crouched in the middle of the court was the Vongola Decimo, AKA, Boss of the largest Mafia Family in all of the world. Not only was he excruciatingly young, but he was soft spoken and charismatic. He has a warm face and a soft way of looking at you. He had subordinates of a disposition unlike any other mafia boss on record, and commanded them with a soft authority that gave them a sense of family kinship rather than Mafia bloodship. It was painful to incarcerate the young man, barely in his twenties; let alone sentence him.

Tsuna looked at the child with concern and love. The child was from just outside of Namimori, close to the Japanese base. Kyouya had saved him one day when a giant gang-fire had broken out, Tsuna close on his heels. The gags had moved in quickly during the time that Tsuna and his guardians had been in Italy to officially take on the throne of Vongola, raping the women and wreaking havoc. Of course, Tsuna arrived home and scorched the earth with his resolve, effectively saving the town.

"Angelo, where is your Mama, surely she is worried about you, ne?" he hummed lightly.

"We saw you on the TV, Mama said we couldn't do anything, that they'd take you _**far away**_! I don't want that, Nii-san! You protect me! I love you!" the child's voice cracked and he stuffed his face into Tsuna's chest. "I ran away and came here to stop them."

As the child sobbed into his chest, held awkwardly by a cuffed brunet, Tsuna turned and addressed the court, the cameras, and the viewers of his final trial.

"Though it will not affect my sentencing, I think you all need to be aware of something very, very important." His voice was authorities, drenched in that softness of a friend, but that strength of a leader. "When I was chosen as heir, I did not want it. Even now, I believe I was forced into becoming Vongola Decimo." He breathed softly, comforting the weeping child, "But, I never did become Decimo. I demanded, of my tutors and predecessors, to right the wrongs of the past and give Vongola its honor back."

Tsuna paused for a moment, watching his guardians soften in the front row of the stands, made to watch their boss sentenced and taken away; the final blow, as the authorities liked to call it.

"I am guilty of everything you have accused me of, Vongola is guilty of everything. But it was never intended to be." His voice was sad, tears rumbling in his chest, "Vongola was always intended to be for the people; a vigilante to protect where the authorities could not that's what my ancestor wanted." he almost laughed lightly, some inside joke. "My arrest and this sentence, given that I have no heir, mark the end of Vongola."

Looking out into the cameras, his eyes glowing with the hue of dying will flames despite the lack of flicker on his fore head, Tsuna's words echoed into the world and court alike. Telling them, showing them; making it impossible to forget or deny.

"With Vongola's death comes the collapse of the Mafia. I have assured this." He breathed, looking at Angelo in his arms and smiling softly before addressing the cameras again. "With Vongola's death comes my greatest and only goal."

He had finally done it. For all Tsuna's struggle and training, all his planning and pain; he could finally allow himself to be arrested, possibly killed.

The mafia was a dying regime, and with Vongola's legacy and legend floating on in words awe and fear in stories and nightmares; it would never be as strong ever again.

With his final words, Vongola had finally regained its pride. Its purpose.

Tsuna knew that they were all, finally, free.

* * *

**I'm actually, strangely proud of this. It isn't my best peace, I don't think anyway. But I really like it. So I would love to know if you like it too, because something about it just makes me really proud of writing it.  
Thank you for reading,**

**~~Bleach-ed-Na-tsu :3**


End file.
